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Mary Robinson: New Climate Agreement is About Human Rights

10/19/2015

For people living in small island developing nations rising sea levels and more frequent tropical storms mean climate change poses an immediate and direct threat to their lives and livelihoods.

Threats to the environment inextricably pose threat to human rights, writes Mary Robinson in this post. She explains how the COP21 climate agreement, being negotiated by world leaders and agreed in Paris this December, is inescapably and fundamentally about people, and their freedom to live lives of dignity and equal rights. The implementation of this agreement will affect all aspects of human life, from how we grow and harvest food, to how we build our cities and transport networks, to how we power our homes and our industries.

Terming it ‘Climate Justice’, Robinson argues that we must ensure that the climate agreement reached in Paris ensures an inclusive and just transition for all, and safe-guards those who are least able to adapt.